Alexey Maresyev
|image=Maresiev.jpg |caption= |birth_place= Kamyshin, Russian empire |death_place= Russia |allegiance= |branch= |serviceyears= |rank= |unit= |commands = |battles = |awards = * Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 3rd class * Order of the Red Banner * Order of the October Revolution * * * Order of Friendship of Peoples * Order of the Red Star * Order of the Badge of Honour }} Alexey Petrovich Maresyev ( ; May 20, 1916 – May 19, 2001) was a Soviet fighter ace during World War II. He was born in Kamyshin. Before joining the army in 1937, Maresyev worked as a turner and then participated in the construction of Komsomolsk-on-Amur. In 1940, he graduated from Bataysk Military School of Aviation. He began his flights as a fighter pilot in August 1941. He had shot down four German aircraft by March 1942, but on April 4, 1942, his Polikarpov I-16 was shot down near Staraya Russa, then occupied by Nazi Germany. Despite being badly injured, Alexey managed to return to the Soviet-controlled territory on his own. During his 18-day long journey, his injuries deteriorated so badly that both of his legs had to be amputated below the knee. Desperate to return to his fighter pilot career, he subjected himself to nearly a year of exercise to master the control of his prosthetic devices, and succeeded at that, returning to flying in June 1943. During a dog fight in August 1943, he shot down three German FW-190 fighters. In total, he completed 86 combat flights and shot down 11 German warplanes. He was awarded the Golden Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union (August 24, 1943), the highest military decoration of the USSR. In 1944, Maresyev joined the Communist Party and two years later retired from the army. In 1952, Maresyev graduated from the Higher Party School. In 1956, he obtained a Ph.D. in History, and started working in the Soviet War Veterans Committee. Eventually he became a member of Supreme Soviet. He died of a heart attack May 19, 2001, just an hour ahead of his official 85th birthday celebration. His story became the basis for a novel by Boris Polevoy, Story of a Real Man, and subsequent film, where his name is changed to Meresyev. The novel was the basis of Sergei Prokofiev's last opera, The Story of a Real Man. Honours and awards * Golden Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union * Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 3rd class * Order of Lenin, twice * Order of the Red Banner * Order of the October Revolution * Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class * Order of the Red Banner of Labour, twice * Order of Friendship of Peoples * Order of the Red Star * Order of the Badge of Honour * Medal "For Distinction in Guarding the State Border of the USSR" * Medal "Veteran of Labour" See also * Douglas Bader - a World War II Royal Air Force fighter pilot with amputated legs * Soviet Education - Communist Party of the Soviet Union CPSU Higher Party Schools External links * [http://ia301542.us.archive.org/1/items/AStoryAboutARealMan/ Story of a Real Man] at Internet Archive (full text, English) * Алексей Маресьев: "Я человек, а не легенда!" * Aleksei Maresyev, Heroic Russian Pilot, Dies at 84 * [http://kinejo.blogsome.com/2007/05/20/novelo-pri-la-vera-homo-1948/ Story Of A Real Man, Soviet 1948 movie based on Alexei Maresiev' s lifestory, watchable and downloadable with Esperanto subtitles] Category:1916 births Category:2001 deaths Category:Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery Category:People from Kamyshin Category:Mordvin people Category:Russian aviators Category:Soviet World War II pilots Category:Russian people of World War II Category:Soviet World War II flying aces Category:Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Category:Russian amputees Category:Heroes of the Soviet Union Category:Recipients of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 3rd class Category:Recipients of the Order of Lenin Category:Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Category:Recipients of the Order of the October Revolution Category:Recipients of the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class Category:Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Category:Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Category:Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Category:Recipients of the Order of the Badge of Honour Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Service in Guarding the State Border Category:Shot-down aviators